要

yào

HSK 1

要 — yào

1. to want; to need; to ask for; will/shall; about to; need to; should; (conjunction) if (as in 要是); (bound form) important

   我要一杯水。 wǒ yào yībēi shuǐ — I want/need a glass of water.

要 — yāo

1. to demand; to coerce (bound form used in compounds, e.g., 要挟 yāoxié “to coerce”)

   对方用威胁来要挟他交出钱财。 duìfāng yòng wēixié lái yāoxié tā jiāochū qiáncái — The other party used threats to coerce him into handing over the money.